Apparatus for loading suction-dredges, &amp;c.



PATENTED JULY 12, 1904.

A. VAN DEN HASPEL.

APPARATUS FOR LOADING SUCTION DREDGES, 8w.

APPLICATION FILED 1330.8, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- NO MODEL.

Elma/urea Award /{w Den 16 626,066

PATENTED JULY 12, 1904.

A. VAN DEN HASPEL. APPARATUS FOR LOADING SUCTION DREDGBS, 8w.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8. 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES.

Patented July 12, 1904.

PATENT men.

ALBERT VAN DEN HASPEL, OF NIEUWV-LEKKERLAND, NETHERLANDS, ASSIGNOR TOLEONARDUS J OHANNES SMIT, OF NIEUWV-LEKKERLAND, SOUTH HOLLAND,NETHERLANDS, TRADING AS L. SMIT & ZOON.

APPARATUS FOR LOADING SUCTlON-DREDGES, 81.0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,784, dated July 12,1904.

Application filed December 8, 1903. Serial No. 184,250. (No model.)

To (0Z6 whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT VAN DEN HAS- PEL, a subject of the Queen ofthe Netherlands, residing at Nicuw-Lekkerland, Province of Zuid-Holland,Netherlands, have invented Apparatus for Loading Suction- Dredges, &c.,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the process and apparatus forloading suctiondredgers, barges, and the like vessels with the wateryspoil-such as sand mixed with a considerable proportion of waterdelivered by a suction-dredger.

This invention is applicable to self-loading suction-dredgers and alsoto barges whichare loaded directly or indirectly from a suctiondrcdger.

In loading the holds of suction-dredgers from their own spoil-pipes andalso in loading the holds of barges and the like vessels from thespoil-pipes of a separate suctiondredger in cases where the dredgings orspoil, as is especially the cases when fine sand is being sucked up,contains much Water the sand has no time to settle. In consequence ofthe continuous loading of watery spoil into the hold the spoil ismaintained in constant agitation, with the result that the solidportions of the spoil remain suspended in the water. \Vhen the hold isfull, the operation of loading must, however, be continued in order toget as much sand as possible into the hold. In this operation the waterin excess flows continuously away over the side of the dredger andcarries a considerable amount of sand with it overboard. If the loadingwere to be discontinued until the sand had settled, too much time wouldbe lost. Therefore it is preferred to put up with the waste of sand andlabor. The more watery the spoil the longer will the solid particlesthereof take to settle and the greater will be the quantity of sandwhich is carried overboard again. Now the improvements in the apparatuswhich form the subject of the present application for a patent allows ofcontinuing the loading of watery spoil into the hold withoutinterruption, while giving time to the spoil to settle without being inpart washed overboard again. For this purpose the hold of thesuction-dredger, barge, or the like is according to this inventiondivided by means of transverse bulkheads into two or more compartments.While one compartment is being charged with spoil, the spoil in theremaining compartment or compartments has time to come to rest and tosettle. Then the water is gradually drawn off from the surface of saidcompartment or compartments until sand alone remains therein, whereuponthe said compartment or compartments is or are charged again, and thisoperation is repeated alternately until all the compartments have beenfilled with sand alone.

For the purpose of drawing off the water from the surface of thecompartments there is provided a'preferably vertical pipe of which thelower portion is fixed and the upper portion can be moved up and down.

For the purpose of charging the various compartments of the hold thespoil-pipes of the sand-pump are so arranged that only one compartmentis filled at one time.

The accompanying drawings illustrate apparatus for carrying out thisinvention applied by way of example to a suction-dredger.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a part-longitudinal section ofasuctiondredger. Figs. 2 and 3 are cross-sections, respectively, on thelines 2 2 and 3 3 of Fig. l, and Fig. 4 is a plan of Fig. 1.

a is a suction-dredger fitted in the manner set forth in the GermanPatent No. 87,709, with bottom ducts formed by a double bottomb 0 forthe purpose of emptying itself by suction.

(Z represents transverse bulkheads dividing the hold into a plurality ofcompartments 6.

(Two compartments are shown.)

f 9 represent a vertical pipe provided in each compartment 0. Its lowerportion f is fixed, while its upper portion 9 is made in the manner of acollapsible bellows of leather or other suitable material well stiffenedon the inside by means of rings and is adapted to move along guides 7',which are connected together by means of cross pieces or rings It. Theportion g is open at its upper end, where it is connected to a long rackj. By means of hoisting mechanism 7r the rack j, and with it the bellowsg, can be drawn up or let down.

Z represents the spoil-pipes which are supplied from the sandsuction-pump if. They extend in the usual manner over the the entirelength of the hold. In these pipes Z are provided sets of apertures mand a for the outflow of the watery spoil, the apertures m beingarranged over the first compartment 0 and the apertures n over thesecond compartment. In cases where only two compartments 0 are provided,as shown, the sets of apertures m and a may be arranged diametricallyopposite to each other, looking at the pipes end-on. here there areseveral compartments, the relative position of these apertures is suchthat the angle inclosed between one set of apertures and the next set ofapertures is one hundred and twenty degrees in the case of threecompartments, ninety degrees in the case of four compartments, and soon, so that there will always be only one set of aperturesnamely, theapertures over one compartment directed downward. The spoil-pipes Z, orat least those portions thereof containing the aforesaid apertures, aremounted so as to be capable of rotation. A motor 0 is provided for thepurpose of rotating the same, and on its driving-shaft p are worms (1,which engage in worm-wheel segments 9", fixed to the rotatable portionsof the pipes Z.

5 represents shaped metal plates fitted around the upper part of thecharging-pipes Z in such a manner that in all positions of the pipes Zall the apertures will be closed with the exception of those apertureswhich happen to be directed downward at the time. Thus it will be seenthat by rotating the pipes Zthe material will be discharged into thecompartments successively. The fixed pipes f discharge into thebox-keelsonu, arranged in the keel of the ship bet-ween the bottomducts.

The box-.keelson is in direct communication through suitable meanswiththe water outside. The transverse bulkhead (Z is made somewhat lowerthan the sides of the vessel, so that when a compartment 1; is full ofwatery spoil and the pipes Z be not immediately shifted the spoil willnot flow overboard to waste, but will overflow into the next compartmenta.

The mode of operation is as follows: In loading the hold of thesuction-dredger (Z (or of a dredger-barge fitted with this apparatus)first one compartment 6 is filled with watery spoil. For this purposethe charging-pipes Z are rotated until the apertures 92 are directeddownward, while the apertures m are directed upward and are covered bythe plates s, Fig. 4. WVhen this compartment is full, the pipes Z arerotated, by means of the motor 0, until 7 least sand.

the apertures a are directed upward and the apertures m are directeddownward. The adjaeent compartment ethat is to say, the compartmentwhich is situated nearest to the sand suction-pumpis then tilled. Duringthis time the watery spoil comes to rest in the full compartment, andthe sand or spoil proper gradually settles, leaving a layer of waterpractically free from sand at the surface. Now the bellows-pipe g, whichhad been completely drawn up by means of the Windlass 70, Fig. 2, is nowlet down to such a depth as to allow this water to flow away over itsedge through this pipe and then through the boxkeelson a, whence it isdischarged overboard. As the water-level falls the bellows-pipe g isgradually lowered with it until practically only the settled spoil orsand is left in the compartment, care being taken to draw off only thetop layer of water, which contains When all the Water standing above thesand has been drawn off, the bellows-pipe g is again raised and thecompartment is again filled up with watery spoil. Meanwhile a similarproceeding is taking place in the adjacent compartment 0, and so onalternately until all the compartments are full of solid sand containinga minimum proportion of water.

The advantage of this invention is that the hold can be charged withoutinterruption, and therefore without loss of time, with spoil containinga considerable proportion of liquid without the disadvantage of a partof the dredged material being carried to waste by the water dischargedoverboard, as is now the case with ordinary methods .and apparatus.

In a modification instead of the partly-movable pipes f g wholly-fixeddischarging-pipes may be employed to draw off the Water at differentlevels in the hold, such pipes being arranged at different points of thehold. These discharging-pipes closed at the commencement would be openedin succession.

hat I claim is- 1. In adredge, the combination with a hold provided withpartitions forming a series of separate compartments, a pipe and meanswhereby the pipe can deliver into any one of the compartments, the pipedelivering the watery spoil to the compartments successively wherebyeach compartment will be lilled with watery spoil in succession.

2. In suction-dredgers, barges and the like vessels, in combination, avertically-compartmented hold; a rotary spoil-pipe extending over aplurality of the compartments of the hold and formed with peripheralapertures for charging the said compartments with watery spoil, arrangedin sets spaced equally around the periphery of the pipe whereby only oneset of apertures can be situated in its lowest position to dischargeinto its respective compartment at one time; and covers located over thespoil-pipe adapted to close their respective apertures in the spoil-pipewhen said apertures are moved out of their lowest position, whereby inthe rotation of the spoilpipe, only the apertures which are situated inthe under side of the spoil-pipe will be opened to discharge wateryspoil into the compartment situated underneath, the remaining aperturessituated over the other compartments being automatically closed by theircoincidence with their covers.

3. In suction-dredgers, barges, and the like vessels, in combination, avertically-compartmented hold; pipes in each compartment for drawing oilwater from the surface at various levels of the said compartment; acommon duct located at the bottom of the hold and communicating with thelower ends of said pipes for receiving water discharged by them; andmeans for drawing ofi' water from the said duct and discharging saidwater overboard.

4. In suction-dredgers, barges and the like vessels, in combination, avertically-compartmented hold; a draw-ofi pipe in each compartment,composed of a vertically-collapsible upper inlet portion adapted when inits highest position to extend to the top of said compartment, and of alower exit portion fixed to the bottom of the compartment; means forraising and lowering the collapsible portion of said draw-off pipe todraw oif the water from its surface at varying levels in thecompartment; a duct located at the bottom of the hold and communicatingwith the lower exit portion of the draw-off pipe; and means for drawingoff water from said duct and discharging same overboard.

Signed at Rotterdam, the Netherlands, this 10th day of October, 1903.

ALBERT VAN DEN HASPEL.

Witnesses:

PIETER YONGEBREWR, J OHANNES D. FUHRING.

